Mr. Carter, your presidential library should be in the shape of a mosque. Taking arab money in one hand, and hammering Israel with the other. Give me a man of morals, then I will listen with a genuine ear. This story was written in 2002. However, it seems it was written today. I scoff at the ideal the worst president in modern times should open his lips to give advice to the world. He should stick to what he is good at: Habitat for Huminanity. That is the only noble area in which he has done well.
Former president Jimmy Carter, who has recently emerged as one of the Jewish state's most vocal critics for its current West Bank anti-terror policy, has been the recipient of tens of millions of dollars from Arab sources.
But far from being neutral, Carter has a track record as a long-time critic of Israel who has often displayed pro-Arab sympathies.
But it’s the financing behind Georgia’s Carter Center and the Jimmy Carter Library that raises serious doubts that the former president is, in actuality, a wholly neutral intermediary in the troubled region.
NewsMax has reviewed annual reports that indicate millions of charitable dollars have flowed into the center from His Majesty Sultan Qaboss bin Said Al Said of Oman, Jordan, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and from the Government of the United Arab Emirates.
Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated to the center by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. H.R.H. Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah of Morocco has also contributed tens of thousands of dollars.
There are no corresponding contributions apparent from Israeli sources, however.
As the center’s literature describes, "The Carter Center and the Jimmy Carter Library were built in large measure thanks to the early leadership and financial support of the Carter Center founders.” Three of those generous founders:
Agha Hasan Abedi
On July 5 1991, banking regulators targeted Abedi’s Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), triggering a worldwide financial tidal wave. To date, accountants and lawyers have managed to recoup (discounting fees) $7 billion out of the $12 billion money pit that fueled the BCCI fraud.
Agha Hasan Abedi, a banker and self-styled mystic on first-name terms with Carter, created BCCI in 1972. Abedi had charmed seed money out of Arab sheikhs, organizing camel races and hunting trips. The Bank of America bought into BCCI as a way of buying access to the Middle East, holding a 30 percent stake at one point before dumping its holdings in the late-1970s.
His Majesty King Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Last month Saudi Arabia transferred $15.4 million in advance aid to the Palestinian Authority. The transfer was made to a controversial Arab League fund, a product of the recent Arab summit in Beirut. According to Arab spokesmen, the money was hurriedly contributed due to the dire plight of the Palestinian people as a result of "vicious Israeli aggression.”
King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah and Defense Minister Prince Sultan jointly donated $4.8 million to launch the fund pot, while Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz sent an estimated $800,000 to the families of "155 Palestinian martyrs” killed in the current Israeli offensive.
Hasib J. Sabbagh
Sabbagh is the chairman of Consolidated Contractors Co. of Oman, Jordan. He is also the Senior Fellow for the Middle East of the Council on Foreign Relations. Founded in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations is a membership organization contributing ideas to U.S. foreign policy. The Council publishes Foreign Affairs, a leading journal on global issues.
Individual, foundation, and corporate donors, together with multilateral development assistance programs, support the Carter Center’s current annual operating budget of around $30 million. Among the center’s announced priorities: promoting democracy, global development, human rights and conflict resolution.
Carter said he has spent much time raising money, but he hopes that a campaign to raise a $150 million endowment will lighten the load. Phil Wise, the center’s executive director for operations, said an estimated $110 million has already been raised for the endowment.
